The good prospects prior to the race vanished at the first corner after Fernando Alonso suffered a spin and was suspended minutes later. Alpine managed to catch at least one point with Esteban Ocon.
The weekend of Fernando Alonso He finished in the worst possible way after the Spanish rider’s great performance in qualifying for the Turkish Grand Prix, which had made him very optimistic about today’s result.
The pilot of Alpine, who did not want the rain to appear in this race, started well on the wet asphalt and disputed the fourth position to Pierre Gasly on the outside, but both touched and the Spaniard suffered a spin.
“We had damage to the front wing from the first laps”
That sent him to the last positions of the race, forcing him to climb positions. Perhaps that need was what caused Alonso to rush into his attempted overtaking of Mick Schumacher, which he rammed.
Haas’s German spun as the Alpine’s wing was damaged. In addition, Alonso received a five second penalty to fulfill at his pit stop, definitely ruining any hope of a good result.
«We had a damage in the front wing from the first lapsBut when you’re in traffic and without DRS you can’t overtake, we were in a group where you also damage the tires, so well, a race like we said yesterday … ».
“When we start from the front, we are unlucky to be touched from behind, and then we are 58 laps without anything happening. There were no yellow flags, no Safety Car, it was a bit boring race in that sense. Hopefully we can qualify so high in the next races and have another chance, because today’s was taken from us to a certain extent », lamented Fernando Alonso regarding a race moved only in the first lap.
Incidents
The first blow with Pierre Gasly happened in the first corner, when the Frenchman found himself sandwiched between Sergio Pérez and Fernando Alonso. The Alpine pilot called “moron” to his opponent on the radio, but later, more calmly, he did not want to make too many evaluations.
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“I haven’t seen him on TV yet and I can’t comment, but I think they gave him a 5-second penalty. I don’t think there is a way out, whatever they have decided is fine. They are races that are a lottery. It would have been nice to change the engine here, it was what we thought when we saw the weather forecast, but of course, if you classify in the top five you don’t change it, “he acknowledged.
«We knew it was a bit of a lottery race and this year when we play we don’t get any numbers, so I guess we have an accumulation of luck, I hope, spectacular for next year », he reiterated.
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Fernando Alonso also spoke of the incident with Mick Schumacher, explaining that “we were all in a group, visibility very little, I went inside. I understand that he has not seen me, we touched and they gave me 5 seconds. Understandable too, because I was trying to recover and perhaps it was not the most suitable place but I saw a hole and I thought I could get in. Then, as he spun, they gave me the penalty, deserved ».
For its part, Esteban Ocon He was the only driver who lasted the entire race without changing tires – as it was declared in the wet it was not mandatory -, finally catching a point and extending Alpine’s streak, which has scored points in all races except the first.